Convocation

The Church Handy Dictionary by Anonymous (1890)

CONVOCATION. An assembly of Bishops and Clergy to consult on matters ecclesiastical. Each Province (Canterbury and York) has its own convocation, consisting of two Houses—an Upper, in which the Bishops of the Province sit, and a Lower, in which the Deans, Archdeacons, and chosen members of the clergy sit. These chosen clergy are called proctors, and are elected by the votes of the beneficed clergy. It was, and is, the custom of convocation to sit at the same time as parliament; but in the sixteenth century a great deal of the power and authority of convocation was lost, and it became no longer able to legislate for the Church without the consent of parliament.